Let Your Joy Be Complete

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

This passage from the 15
th chapters of John’s Gospel has meant a lot to me over the years, and it has been the driving force of my vocation to the priesthood. Jesus wants
His joy for us, so that
our joy may be complete. In other words, unless we allow the joy of Christ in our life our joy
cannot be complete. So when you see truly committed Christians and see how joyful they are, you know that they are subsisting in the joy of Jesus.

We too can be that joyful! We must allow for Jesus to be the biggest part of our lives, but not just in words. Jesus must be our main focus and not just for ourselves, but for others, in deeds too. This doesn’t mean we ignore the intellectual parts of the faith or the dogmas, but it must be supplemented with actions. I believe the Catholic Church does this wonderfully. We can always be better, but the Church in particular has a pretty stellar record of being the most charitable organization in the world. This could be merely a point of pride or it could be a driving force to always do better.

Even when doing the things we should do, our disposition should be that of joy. Living the Christian life means being kind, but it also means being a people of joy. We should not go around with sour dispositions and scowls on our face. Even if faced with a tough situation, a joyful bearing is much more acceptable than a skulking, angry deportment. If we are going to love one another as we have been asked to do, then let’s do it! Let’s show each other the kindness we show the ones we love at all times, even if we are in disagreement. This will show the face of Christ for sure. It is not always easy, but we need to strive for this. We need to make it our default position and when we find ourselves getting angry at someone, we need to remind ourselves that this is a person made in the image and likeness of God. The Lord is calling us to this standard and the Scripture is clear. So are we going to be people of Word and Sacrament? I hope and pray that we are striving for this.

I hope you have been able to enjoy this spring now that the cold and snow of our winter has subsided. Perhaps this Easter season is a good time to clean out any old hurts or grudges you might carry and let the sunshine of the Light of Christ heal those wounds.